Centers And Squares
Welcome to Centers and Squares
As a Cambridge real estate agent, the city squares of Cambridge, Somerville and Medford and the town centers of Arlington, Watertown and Belmont, Massachusetts are my home turf. And as a lifelong New Englander who’s lived within twenty miles of Boston most of my life, I can introduce you to other nearby towns as we search for your new home. If you’re planning to sell your home in Cambridge, MA or nearby you’ll find plenty of info about the home selling process here too. Questions? Send me an email or call me at 617-504-1737.
Having Trouble Finding a Cambridge Condo To Buy?
Condo Inventory Is Way Down In Cambridge
Are you having trouble finding a Cambridge condo to buy? No wonder – inventory is at record lows. Here’s how the numbers looked at this time of year over the last decade:
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2003 . . . . . 151 condos listed for sale on February 5th
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2004 . . . . . 127
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2005 . . . . . 225
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2006 . . . . . 321
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2007 . . . . . 265
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2008 . . . . . 287
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2009 . . . . . 243
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2010 . . . . . 174
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2011 . . . . . 182
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2012 . . . . . 92
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2013 . . . . . 86** **Only 64 condos are actually available for sale
Ouch. There are 86 Cambridge condos listed in the MLS for sale right now. But actually only 64 are available for purchase. 22 are what we call “Red Active” – the condos have an accepted offer and are under agreement. The listing agents and sellers are continuing to market the condos but the agent view in the MLS shows the status in red indicating that the property is under agreement.
So there are only 64 condos for sale right now in Cambridge – less than half of what was for sale in every other year this past decade aside from 2012 when 92 condos were listed for sale on February 5th.
But the inventory is even tighter than that number suggests – particularly if you don’t want to live in a modern building in East Cambridge. 21 of the 64 condos listed for sale are at NorthPoint and 10 more are scattered among the other luxury buildings in East Cambridge – the Esplanade, Thomas Graves Landing, the Glass Factory, River Court, the Regatta and One First.
These are beautiful condos in the East Cambridge buildings but if that’s not the style or location you’re looking for there are just 33 condos currently available anywhere else in Cambridge. Seven of these are priced at more than $1,000,000.
So what’s a buyer to do?
You really need to have your ducks in a row and your team in place. If properties do come on the market in your price range make sure you see them so you can start to get an idea of what’s possible. You’ll want to get preapproved by a reputable lender so you’ll know what your price range is and so you’ll be ready when you do want to make an offer. Find an agent with whom you feel comfortable working. It’s more important than ever that you work with an excellent real estate agent. An experienced agent’s advice and help with strategy is critical in a market as competitive as this. Make sure you share all the details of your wish list – and its refinements over time – with your agent so that she can keep an eye and ear out for any new listings that might be a match. And try to be available to get out to see places as quickly as possible.
If you’re a seller this is an excellent time to put your property on the market.
Conventional wisdom may be that listing your home for sale in spring is optimal but it’s difficult to recall a better time than right now to sell a property. Buyers are out in force and you’ll have little competition. If your property is priced right – and pricing remains an important factor – and marketed well you may receive multiple offers and be able to select an offer with excellent price and terms. Now is not the time to sell your property to the neighbor knocking on your door or to buyer calling you on the phone because your house didn’t sell a few years ago. If one person wants your house it’s a good bet that if your house is put on the market there will be multiple interested buyers.
Whether you’re interested in buying or in selling I would be happy to discuss what’s possible in this market. Please give me a call at 617-504-1737 or email me at [email protected]. Liz Bolton, ReMax Destiny
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Liz, I just love your blog to death! It’s well written and entertaining.